Strong Support for Massachusetts Health Law Despite Technical Glitches

A new poll by the Boston Globe and the Harvard School of Public Health finds continued public support for the Massachusetts health care law, despite numerous technical glitches.

Boston Globe: “Sixty-three percent of adults said they support the law … the same percentage as in a similar survey conducted in 2011.”

“Fewer than half the people questioned in the latest survey knew anything about the difficulties with the state’s health insurance website after it was retooled to comply with the federal Affordable Care Act, starting last October.”

“The results show that the Massachusetts health insurance law, enacted in 2006, is an entrenched and accepted part of life in the state, said Robert J. Blendon,” the poll’s co-director.

“Asked how the Massachusetts law will affect health care in the state in the long run, 44 percent said they thought it would make things better, while 21 percent said it would make things worse.”

“But ACA proponents should not pin their hopes on the Massachusetts experience as a sign that national public opinion will eventually turn, Blendon said. In Massachusetts, the health care law always had the support of more than half the state’s residents.”